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Scientific and

technological

events in

Europe

1945-2015

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Index

Severo Ochoa, by Natalia Naranjo Moreno Arrones and María José Rodríguez Rabadán

León………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

Nucleic Acid Double Helix, by Antonio Romero de Ávila Ruiz Poveda and Antonio García

de Mateos Díaz Cacho……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

CERN, by Ángela Uriel, Susana Velasco and Eva Montoya…………………………………………. 8

Galileo System of Global Navigation, by Benito Candelas, Carlos Díaz Mayordomo and

Pedro Serrano…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13

Nuclear Fusion, by Belén Márquez Alhambra, Gloria Obregón Lara and Almudena

Mateos-Aparicio Candelas……………………………………………………………………………………… 16

The European Space Agency and the Ariane Rocket, by María José González Albo and

Juani García Cervigón…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

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SEVERO OCHOA

Who was Severo Ochoa?

Severo Ochoa was an international Spanish scientific who won a Nobel Prize of Physiology and Medicine.

He was born the 24th of September of 1905 in Luarca, Spain and he died the first of November of 1993 in Madrid, Spain.

-Career:

He started his studies in Malaga in 1912. His interest for the Biology began when he started to read some books of Ramón y Cajal. In Madrid he studied Medicine but he never practiced as a doctor.

He helped to his professor Juan Negrín and he achieved scholarships. In 1932 he made important investigations of enzymology in the university of London and in 1935 he

became the new director of the Physiology department in the university of Medical Investigations in Madrid. In 1936 he studied the enzymes, the glucose and the fermentations.

From 1938 to 1941 he studied the biological function of the B1 vitamin and other aspects of the oxidative metabolism of the enzymes in the Oxford University.

Severo Ochoa was professor of biochemistry in New York. From 1946 to 1954 he was professor and director of the Pharmacology's department.

From 1954 to his retirement he was biochemical professor and boss of the biochemical department.

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Investigations:

Severo Ochoa did important investigations along his life in different fields of Biology and Biochemistry:

-He found two unknown enzymes which allowed find out the Krebs cycle, that represents an important biologycal process in the metabolism of living beings.

-He also studied the photosynthesis and the metabolism of the oily acids.

-He did some works that led to the synthesis of the ribonucleic acid after the discovery of an importatn enzyme. This research allowed him to won the Nobel Prize with Arthur Kornberg in 1956.

The scientific contribution of Severo Ochoa was associated with the decodification of the genetic code, the biosynthesis of the proteins and important aspects of the biology of the virus.

A famous sentence of him:

''The love, is the foundry of the physics and chemistry''

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NUCLEIC ACID DOUBLE HELIX

Francis Crick was a British molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, most

noted for being a co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953 with James

Watson. Together with Watson and Maurice Wilkins, he was jointly awarded the 1962

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular

structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".

James Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist and zoologist. He met Crick

and discovered their common interest in solving the DNA structure. They thought it

should be possible to correctly guess its structure, given both the experimental evidence

at King's College plus careful examination of the possible stereo chemical configurations

of polynucleotide chains. Their first serious effort, in the late fall of 1951, was

unsatisfactory. Their second effort based upon more experimental evidence and better

appreciation of the nucleic acid literature, resulted, early in March 1953, in the proposal

of the complementary double-helical configuration.

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Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer who made

contributions to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA

(deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her

works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her contributions to the

discovery of DNA were largely recognized posthumously.

In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by double-

stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double helical structure of a

nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its secondary structure, and is a

fundamental component in determining its tertiary structure. It was discover by James

Watson and Francis Crick, with the collaboration of Rosalind Franklin.

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CERN HISTORY

- The European Organization for Nuclear Research, is

one of the largest and most highly regarded centers in

the world for scientific research.

- The creation of CERN can be considered as the first-

European initiative since the end of World War II.

- What was wanted was to integrate science in Europe,

and thus CERN was born with the aim to "establish a

reference center in Europe to promote scientific study in

European countries" in 1949.

- The Second World War had just

ended a terrible toll in loss of life and

cities that were completely or partially

destroyed.

- Moreover, many scientists fleeing

Nazi, had taken refuge in the United

States, and this was also an objective of

CERN: "back to reinstate European

science scientists who years ago had to

leave their countries."

RESEARCHES

- The first big scientist success of CERN came in 1984, when Carlo Rubbia and Simon van

der Meer were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the W and Z

bosons in 1992

- It was the turn of Georges Charpak "for the invention and development of particle

detectors, in particular the multiwire proportional chamber."

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MEMBER STATES

-CERN is an international laboratory with 20 member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,

the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the

Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

and the United Kingdom), a candidate country (Romania) and 8 observers (the European

Commission, India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, Turkey, UNESCO and the US).

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ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION

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INSTALLATIONS

-The most spectacular CERN facility is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It covers an area

approximately 600 hectares next to Geneva, in the Franco-Swiss border region.

- The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle

accelerator.

- It first started up on 10 September 2008, and remains the latest addition to CERN’s

accelerator complex.

- The LHC consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of

accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way.

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- Inside the accelerator, two high-energy particle beams travel at close to the speed of

light before they are made to collide.

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GALILEO SYSTEM

INDEX

-What is it?

- History

- Main objectives

- Funding

- Tension with EEUU

- Applications and impact

WHAT IS IT?

Galileo is the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that has been created by the

European Union and European Space Agency (ESA), headquartered in Prague, with two

ground operations centers, Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, and Fucino (Italy). The €5

billion project is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.

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HISTORY

MAIN OBJECTIVES

In 1999, the different concepts (from Germany, France and the United Kingdom) for

Galileo were compared and reduced to one by a joint team of engineers from all three

countries. The first stage of the Galileo program was agreed upon officially in 2003 by

the European Union and the European Space Agency.

The system is intended primarily for civilian use. The European system will only be subject

to shutdown for military purposes in extreme circumstances (like armed conflict). It will

be available at its full precision to both civil and military users.

FUNDING

The European Union and the European Space Agency agreed in 2002 to fund the project,

pending a review in 2003. The starting cost for the period ending in 2005 is estimated at

€1.1 billion. The required satellites (the planned number is 30) were to be launched

between 2011 and 2014, with the system up and running and under civilian control from

2019. The final cost is estimated at €3 billion, including the infrastructure on Earth,

constructed in 2006 and 2007. The plan was for private companies and investors to invest

at least two-thirds of the cost of implementation, with the EU and ESA dividing the

remaining cost.

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) contributes the largest portion of the Galileo funds,

and is crucial in the development and application of the system with its facilities of the

Earth Observation Center, and the Institute for Communication and Navigation in

Neustrelitz.

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TENSION WITH EEUU

Galileo is intended to be an EU civilian GNSS that allows all users access to it. GPS is a US

military GNSS that provides location signals that have high precision to US military users,

while also providing less precise location signals to others. The GPS had the capability to

block the "civilian" signals while still being able to use the "military" signal (M-band). A

primary motivation for the Galileo project was the EU concern that the US could deny

others access to GPS during political disagreements.

Since Galileo was designed to provide the highest possible precision (greater than GPS)

to anyone, the US was concerned that an enemy could use Galileo signals in military

strikes against the US and its allies (some weapons like missiles use GNSS systems for

guidance). The frequency initially chosen for Galileo would have made it impossible for

the US to block the Galileo signals without also interfering with its own GPS signals. The

US did not want to lose their GNSS capability with GPS while denying enemies the use of

GNSS. Some US officials became especially concerned when Chinese interest in Galileo

was reported.

An EU official claimed that the US officials implied that they might consider shooting

down Galileo satellites in the event of a major conflict in which Galileo was used in

attacks against American forces. The EU's stance is that Galileo is a neutral technology,

available to all countries and everyone. At first, EU officials did not want to change their

original plans for Galileo, but have since reached a compromise, that Galileo was to use a

different frequency. This allowed the blocking or jamming of either GNSS system

without affecting the other (jam Galileo without affecting GPS, or jam GPS but not

Galileo), giving the US a greater advantage in conflicts in which it has the electronic

warfare upper hand.

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NUCLEAR FUSION WHAT IS NUCLEAR FUSION?

Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei come very close

and then collide at a very high speed and join to form a new nucleus. If the nuclei that

are going to join have less matter than iron, the process releases energy. But, if the nuclei

have more matter than iron, the process absorbs energy.

PROCESS

Fusion reactions are high energy reactions in which two lighter atomic nuclei fuse to

form a heavier nucleus. When they combine, some of the mass is converted into energy

in accordance with Einstein's formula E=mc.2

To get the fusion it is necessary to subject the Tritium or Deuterium to pressures and

temperatures similar to the ones occur in the inner stars.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NUCLEAR FISSION AND FUSION

In nuclear fission the heavy nuclei of the atom is divided, while in the nuclear fusion the

nucleus of the atoms are joined.

The nuclear fission is produced with elements like: uranium, strontium or krypton.

However, if we’re talking about the nuclear fusion, the elements that usually intervene

are helium and hydrogen.

ITER

ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will

be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment.

The aims is to make the long-awaited transition from experimental studies of plasma

physics to full-scale electricity-producing fusion power plants. There by the machine

aims to demonstrate the principle of producing more energy from the fusion process

than is used to initiate it, something that has not yet been achieved in any fusion reactor.

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ITER PARTICIPANS

SPANISH NATIONAL FUSION LABORATORY

The main activity of the National Fusion Laboratory of Spain is related to the scientific

exploitation of the Heliac Flexible TJ-II inside the European Nuclear Fusion Program.

The NFL centralizes in Spain the investigation in fusion, leading the Spanish participation

in the building of the first ITER thermonuclear reactor and it has been the main part to

obtain the localization of the European Agency in Spain.

If finally the fusion is got in an industrial scale and in a profitable way the problems of

energy could finish for the mankind because we could have energy in huge amounts,

enough for any purpose

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THE EUROPEAN

SPACE AGENCY AND

THE ARIANE ROCKET INDEX

-What is the European Space Agency (ESA)?

-The Ariane rocket.

-Members of the ESA.

-Investigations.

-Space explorations.

-Facilities around the World.

What is the European Space Agency (ESA)?

It’s an European organization created in 1975, that is the gateway to the space of

the European continent.

Its mission consist of configuring the development of the European space

capacity and to ensure that the investment in the space activities continues to

deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe.

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THE ARIANE ROCKET

It’s a family of launch vehicles desin¡gned and made in Europe.

It has some versions:

-Ariane 1: first takeoff successfully in December, 1979.

-Ariane 2: first takeoff successfully in November, 1987.

-Ariane 3: first takeoff successfully in August, 1984.

-Ariane 4: first takeoff successfully in June, 1988.

-Ariane 5: first takeoff successfully in October, 1997.

-Ariane 6: actually in development, provided the first

takeoff for 2021-2022.

MEMBERS OF THE ESA

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece,

Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Netherland, Poland, Portugal,

United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

Canada takes part in some projects under a cooperation agreement.

INVESTIGATIONS

Some of its projects are:

-Artemis: It’s an European experimental satellite of communication that belongs to ESA,

launched for trying new technologies of communication, forming part of the EGNOS

system.

-Double star: It was a Chinese-European mission and managed by ESA and the CNSA

(China Space Agency) for the studie of the Earth’s magnetosphere, complemented the

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Cluster mission. In 1997 the CNSA invited ESA to participate in it and in July of 2001 they

signed an agreement to develop the mission together.

-Rosetta: It’s a spacecraft that was launched on March 2004. Its mission is to orbit around

the comet 67P/Churiumov-Guerasimenko in 2014 and 2015.

SPACE EXPLORATIONS

-In 1957, the Soviet Union took its first step in space with the launch of a small satellite

called Sputnik. In this moment began the space age.

In the last 60 years, have been sent probes to all planets of the Solar System and to large

number of satellites, asteroids and comets. Many of these satellites have posed in a

controlled way in half a dozen worlds; and robots have traveled to the Moon and Mars

surfaces. Sun has also been explored by a fleet of satellites.

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Many space laboratories installed in rockets and satellites, such as the space

telescope Hubble, have been launched to study the distant universe. They have

sent stunning images in visible light. They have also observed stars and galaxies at

wavelengths invisible to the human eye, such as the radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-

rays and gamma rays. The flood of discoveries have changed our way of looking

at the universe.

INSTALLATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

HQ: Headquarters (Paris, France)

CSG: Centre Spatial Guiana (Kourou, French Guinea)

ESOC: European Centre of space operations (Darmstadt, Germany)

ESTEC: European Centre of research and space technology (Noordwijk,

Netherlands)

ESRIN: Centre of ESA for Earth observation (Frascati, Italy)

EAC: European Centre of astronauts (Cologne, Germany)

ESAC: European Centre of Space Astronomy (Madrid, Spain) 5

ECSAT: European Centre for space applications and telecommunications

(Oxfordshire, United Kingdom)